provocative Boris Johnson refuses to leave Downing Street despite bleeding support across the Tory ranks in the wake of the Chris Pincher scandal.
But a dramatic 24-hour wave of government resignations and a slew of former allies withdrawn their support have cast serious doubts on the future of his leadership.
Pressure on him to quit reached a boiling point on Wednesday, when a delegation of ministers, believed to include some of his staunch allies, met with him to press for his resignation.
The new mutiny comes after the prime minister’s handling of charges against former deputy head whip, Mr Pincher.
Here’s a timeline of the events leading up to Wednesday’s crisis after reports of the claims against Mr Pincher first emerged:
– June 29, 2022
Pincher allegedly behaved inappropriately on Wednesday evening while drunk at the Carlton Club, a private Tory members’ club in London.
– June 30, 2022
Pincher resigned as deputy head of the whip when The Sun reported the allegations against him relating to the night before.
– July 1, 2022
The Prime Minister bowed to the pressure in the face of an outcry over his delay in suspending the whip against Mr Pincher following the allegations.
The move came amid further claims against Mr Pincher, as well as an investigation launched into a complaint about his conduct.
Downing Street claimed that Mr Johnson was not aware of “specific allegations” against Mr Pincher before appointing him as deputy head whip.
– July 2, 2022
Johnson was under increasing pressure to explain what he knew about the claims before appointing Pincher to the whips office.
The prime minister is said to have referred to the former deputy head whip as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature” before appointing him to the position in February.
Pincher claimed he sought “medical help” after becoming too drunk, causing “embarrassment” to himself and other people.
– July 3, 2022
Work and Pensions Minister Therese Coffey was sent out to defend the prime minister during the morning media round, pointing out that he knew of no “specific claims” about the MP.
New allegations are emerging in numerous newspapers about Mr Pincher’s alleged conduct, with Mr Pincher’s lawyers denying allegations to the newspapers that published them.
– July 4, 2022
Downing Street confirmed Johnson was aware of concerns over Chris Pincher’s behavior when he made him deputy head whip.
The prime minister’s spokesman admitted he was aware of “speculation” surrounding the MP but “no formal complaint at the time”.
– July 5, 2022
7:30 a.m.: That line was dramatically turned upside down when Lord Simon McDonald, former Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Office, publishes a letter bomb claiming that Mr Johnson was “personally” informed of a formal complaint.
Dominic Raab’s morning media run was derailed by the statement, which came minutes after the deputy prime minister claimed he did not believe there was any reason Johnson would have been told that.
This morning I wrote to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards – because No 10 keeps changing their story and still not telling the truth
12.30pm: Labor received an urgent call in parliament to address the growing scandal over Mr Pincher’s past behavior and what the prime minister knew about the allegations.
Tory MPs queued in the House of Commons to publicly condemn Mr Johnson’s handling of the case, with leading figures urging ministers to consider their views.
1pm: Mr Johnson did not recall being told that Mr Pincher was the subject of an official complaint about his behaviour, Downing Street said.
A trickle of Tory back seaters began to publicly advocate for Mr Johnson’s resignation, including Anthony Mangnall and Nick Gibb.
Shortly before 6pm: Prime Minister was forced into a humiliating apology for his handling of the scandal, admitting it was a “mistake” to appoint Mr Pincher to his former position
6.02 pm: Sajid Javid resigned from his post as health minister, saying in a letter to the prime minister on Twitter that the British people “rightly expect integrity from their government”.
6:11 p.m.: Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak was quick to follow suit, citing the public right to expect the government to be “good, competent and serious”.
A steady stream of resignations from elsewhere in the government followed throughout the evening, as former allies also spoke out publicly against Mr Johnson.
Sir Keir Starmer called for a general election as the prime minister returned to Downing Street to contain the damage.
9.40pm: Mr Johnson appointed Nadhim Zahawi to fill the position of Mr Sunak, promoted former Universities Minister Michelle Donelan to Education Minister and Steve Barclay made Health Minister in a bid to reinvigorate his cabinet.
– July 6, 2022
The national mastheads painted a grim picture for the prime minister, with the leader of The Times saying it would be a “mistake” if he continued to hold on to power.
In the Daily Telegraph, former Brexit minister Lord David Frost added his voice to the chorus of leading figures calling on Johnson to quit, saying he must leave before he “takes down the Conservative Party with him”.
The new chancellor insisted the new government will be able to “deliver” and said he believes Mr Johnson has integrity during morning media rounds.
8.25am: Will Quince became the first in a long line of ministers to resign on Wednesday, as backbenchers including Lee Anderson, the formerly loyalist MP for Ashfield, and Robert Halfon publicly withdrew support for the prime minister.
12 noon: Mr Johnson defied calls to resign during PMQs despite signs of Tory support fading, citing his “colossal mandate” in 2019 and vowing to “keep on”.
Sir Keir called it a “pathetic spectacle” before the new backbencher, Mr Javid, stood up to deliver a scathing resignation speech in which he told MPs he was quitting after concluding that “enough is enough”.
2:25 p.m.: In a joint letter, ministers Kemi Badenoch, Julia Lopez, Mims Davies, Lee Rowley, Neil O’Brien and Alex Burghart announced their resignation and called on the prime minister to leave.
2:40 pm: The Daily Mail reported that Secretary of State Michael Gove has told the Prime Minister that he must resign.
3 p.m.: The Prime Minister appeared before the liaison committee and answered questions about his handling of the Pincher affair.
He slammed calls for general elections, suggesting that Tory MPs should instead “love each other like conservatives”.
A delegation of ministers, reportedly including some of his longtime allies, met with Mr Johnson and urged him to resign later in the evening.
Interior Minister Priti Patel and Transport Minister Grant Shappswho was key to the Prime Minister’s struggle for survival during Partygate would be one of those calling on him to quit, it is understood.
Sir Graham Brady is said to have visited Downing Street to communicate the views of the back seaters after a 1922 session of the committee.
The committee’s board did not make any immediate rule changes on Wednesday, but has scheduled executive committee elections for Monday, with results later in the evening.
8.15pm: Mr Johnson rejected calls for his resignation after meeting with ministers reportedly Priti Patel, Grant Shapps, Kwasi Kwarteng, Brandon Lewis and Simon Hart at number 10.